Shimano, UCI Grow Partnership -- Sponsor Spotlight

(ATR) Shimano, a world leader in bicycle components, ups its status to UCI World Cycling Partner for the 2021-2024 period in a new deal with the Union Cycliste Internationale.

The two entities have been partners since 1999.

The new agreement announced on Friday means Shimano will now be involved in the majority of the UCI World Championships including the maiden UCI Cycling World Championships in 2023 as well as in the UCI Mountain Bike and Cyclo-cross World Cups. Shimano will also step up its contribution to the UCI’s cycling development activities.

"The renewal and expansion of our partnership with Shimano is excellent news for our Federation and our sport," UCI President David Lappartient said in a statement. "The strengthening of its engagement will benefit our sport as a whole."

Brazil Lands Tokyo 2020 Sponsor

Mobile operator TIM signs on as the new sponsor for the Brazilian Olympic Committee.

The deal, which runs through the end of the year, calls for TIM to support all the preparation and participation of Team Brazil in Japan, a delegation expected to number about 300 athletes.

The company will also support the Youth Games - the main youth competition in Brazil, whose next edition is scheduled for November 2021 in Aracaju (SE) - and various actions of the Transforma program, which introduces Olympic values to students and educators of schools and social projects throughout the country.

The agreement also includes seven athletes as brand ambassadors for TIM’s campaigns including on social media.

The group includes Rio 2016 champion sailors Kahena Kunze and Martine Grael, the silver medal winning canoeists Isaquías Queiroz and Erlon de Souza, the duo Ana Patrícia and Rebecca from beach volleyball, and the taekwondo fighter Ícaro Miguel.

"TIM's arrival in the Brazilian Olympic Movement is a source of great pride and emphasizes the importance of sport values for society and brands. We want to make the connection between TIM and COB a milestone in our Olympic history," said COB president Paulo Wanderley Teixeira.

NEC Extends Wheelchair Tennis Sponsorship

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) and NEC announced an extension of their 30-year partnership with wheelchair tennis for another three years.

The communications and IT company will continue as title sponsor of the NEC Wheelchair Singles Masters and as an international sponsor of several UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Tour events from 2021 to 2023 in a deal announced on Friday.

BKT Tire Adds to Curling Portfolio

BKT Tires adds the 2021 World Women’s Curling Championship to its expanding sponsorship of international curling.

This week BKT Tires became the Presenting Sponsor of the LGT World Women’s Curling Championship 2021, scheduled to be held in Schaffhausen, Switzerland from March 19–28.

BKT Tires, which has been a supporter of curling in Canada for a number of years, earlier this month signed on with OK Tire as the title sponsors for the World Men's Curling Championship 2021 in Calgary in April.

"BKT Tires have, in a short period of time, become deeply involved in supporting two of our most important championships in this four-year Olympic cycle and we are extremely grateful for their significant investment in our sport," World Curling Federation President, Kate Caithness said in a statement.

Both the men’s and women’s championships feature 14 teams competing for the world title and the first qualification places for their respective team events at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games.

Written by Gerard Farek

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